NEW UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX for 2003

[STING2]

The Human Development Index measures the Standard of Living of nearly all countries on the planet and ranks them with #1 having the highest standard of living in the world. On this years list, the USA falls 1 place to #7 in the world. It was #6 in 2002.

1. Norway
2. Iceland
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. Netherlands
6. Belgium
7. United States
8. Canada
9. Japan
10. Switzerland
11. Denmark
12. Ireland
13. United Kingdom
14. Finland
15. Luxembourg
16. Austria
17. France
18. Germany
19. Spain
20. New Zealand
21. Italy
22. Israel
23. Portugal
24. Greece
25. Cyprus
26. Hong Kong
27. Barbados
28. Singapore
29. Slovenia
30. Korea, Rep. of
31. Brunei Darussalam
32. Czech Republic
33. Malta
34. Argentina
35. Poland
36. Seychelies
37. Bahrain
38. Hungary
39. Slovakia
40. Uruguay
41. Estonia
42. Costa Rica
43. Chile
44. Qatar
45. Lithuania
46. Kuwait
47. Croatia
48. United Arab Emirates
49. Bahamas
50. Latvia
51. Saint Kitts and Nevis
52. Cuba
53. Belarus
54. Trinidad and Tobago
55. Mexico
56. Antigua and Barbuda
57. Bulgaria
58. Malaysia
59. Panama
60. Macedonia
61. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
62. Mauritius
63. Russian Federation
64. Colombia
65. Brazil
66. Bosnia and Herzegovina
67. Belize
68. Dominica
69. Venezuela
70. Samoa
71. Saint Lucia
72. Romania
73. Saudi Arabia
74. Thailand
75. Ukraine
76. Kazakhstan
77. Suriname
78. Jamaica
79. Oman
80. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
81. Fiji
82. Peru
83. Lebanon
84. Paraguay
85. Philippines
86. Maldives
87. Turkmenistan
88. Georgia
89. Azerbaijan
90. Jordan
91. Tunisia
92. Guyana
93. Grenada
94. Dominican Republic
95. Albania
96. Turkey
97. Ecuador
98. Occupied Palestinian Territories
99. Sri Lanka
100. Armenia
101. Uzbekistan
102. Kyrgyzstan
103. Cape Verde
104. China
105. El Salvador
106. Iran, Islamic Rep. Of
107. Algeria
108. Moldova, Rep. Of
109. Vietnam
110. Syrian Arab Republic
111. South Africa
112. Indonesia
113. Tajikistan
114. Bolivia
115. Honduras
116. Equatorial Guinea
117. Mongolia
118. Gabon
119. Guatemala
120. Egypt
121. Nicaragua
122. Sao Tome and Principe
123. Solomon Islands
124. Namibia
125. Botswana
126. Morocco
127. India
128. Vanuatu
129. Ghana
130. Cambodia
131. Myanmar
132. Papua New Guinea
133. Swaziland
134. Comoros
135. Lao People's Dem. Rep.
136. Bhutan
137. Lesotho
138. Sudan
139. Bangladesh
140. Congo
141. Togo
142. Cameroon
143. Nepal
144. Pakistan
145. Zimbabwe
146. Kenya
147. Uganda
148. Yemen
149. Madagascar
150. Haiti
151. Gambia
152. Nigeria
153. Djibouti
154. Mauritania
155. Eritrea
156. Senegal
157. Guinea
158. Rwanda
159. Benin
160. Tanzania, U. Rep. of
161. Cote d'lvoire
162. Malawi
163. Zambia
164. Angola
165. Chad
166. Guinea-Bissau
167. Congo, Dem. Rep. Of the
168. Central African Republic
169. Ethiopia
170. Mozambique
171. Burundi
172. Mali
173. Burkina Faso
174. Niger
175. Sierra Leone

 

[TylerDurden]

#80 looks like the name of a band to me.

What did Canada do in the last year? They're usually top 5 and always ahead of the US?

Go Australia. Who would want to live in Iceland anyway.

 

[STING2]

Interesting to see the Occupied Palestinian Territories at #98 ahead of China at #104 and Iran at #106. The Occupied Palestinian Territories are not far behind their neighbor Jordan.

Another area that has come a long way is Bosnia at #66.

 

[melon]

I believe the criteria to define this has changed, which is why Canada fell. I don't know what has changed, though.

Melon

 

[STING2]

TylerDurden,

From what I hear, Iceland is similar to Ireland as far as weather. Don't let the name fool you. Most of Canada is probably colder year round.

"Who would want to live in Iceland anyway?"

Well, many say Iceland has the most physically beautiful women in the world. There may be something to this as Scientists are currently studying genes for reasons similar to this. The theory goes, the Vikings spent hundreds of years raiding coastal European towns of many things, including all the beautiful women. They brought em back to Iceland where they increased the quality of the gene pool. So in 2003, Iceland has the most physically beautiful women in the world.

I don't really know if there really is anything to that at all. But thats the legend, myth, story or whatever.


Canada was at #3 last year.

They're usually top 5 and always ahead of the US?

Not this year!

 

[STING2]

Melon,

"I believe the criteria to define this has changed, which is why Canada fell. I don't know what has changed, though."

Did you see an article that said something to this effect. I was just at the UNDP site and there seemed like there were over 100 inputs that went in to making the lists.

 

[melon]

I bet that is myth. It is probably because Iceland is fairly insular. Thus, they are procreating with people of similar stature and physical attributes, including the less obvious of sorts, such as skeletal structure and jaw lines.

Proportion usually makes beauty, but I'm sure that there are ugly people in Iceland too.

Melon

 

[STING2]

Melon,

Actually if thats the case, a narrow gene pool, then I would say the opposite would be true. But I think there might be something to, the Viking raids helping to make the Gene pool back home larger. Africa of course has the greatest diversity of genes since that is where everyone came from 60,000 years ago.

 

[melon]

Well, wouldn't America have an even greater gene pool? So why aren't we the most beautiful?

Put two beautiful people together and let them have a child; it doesn't guarantee beauty, particularly if they are "beautiful" in different ways. A mixture of a small bone frame with big teeth and a small jaw--all qualities that might have made both the parents beautiful in their own ways--will not create a beautiful child. Mismatched, it can be quite ugly.

Iceland, for better or for worse, is almost strictly Viking in origin. Iceland isn't exactly Disneyland, which is precisely why, ethnically, they are all similar. Iceland probably has a sizeable enough population to ward against incest problems, but, with similar skeletal structures, it is more likely that you'll get a "proportionate" child.

Melon

 

[BVS]

Who would want to live in Iceland anyway.

They have a great music scene happening there.

 

[pax]

Norway obviously has the highest standard of living due to the wild popularity of Sondre Lerche.

 

[STING2]

Melon,

"Well, wouldn't America have an even greater gene pool? So why aren't we the most beautiful?"

You have to give it time. The races are still to some degree segregated. But another 300 years from now, people of purely European descent in the USA will probably be rare.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Here's an interesting site for some light reading on welfare states, pension status, health care and family policy on a few of the countries listed in the Human Development Index.
Just click a country and then pick which area you want to look at. Its fascinating stuff.
http://www.reformmonitor.org/index.php3?mode=status